Horseshoe.



No. 817,323. PAIENTED APR. l0, 1906.

G. W. JOHNSON.

HORSESHOE. APPLIoATIoN FILED APH. 1a, 1904.

t@ Cl!! 4pletely HE lli s HRSIESHOE.

To all whom iz? mar/voortaan:

Be it known that I, GEORGE W. JOHNSON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chi* cago, county of Cook, State of Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Horseshoes and l declare the follow ing to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it pertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the acco'mpanying drawings, which form a part of this specification.

My invention :relates in general to horseshoes, and more particularly to a composite shoe comprising a resilient pad and metallic Washers through which the nails extend.

It is well known that there are a number of objections to the usual metallic horseshoe, some of which are due to the fact that the shoe offers only a limited bearing-surface and leaves the center of the hoof exposed to injury by picking up stones, nails, or other sharp objects and in winter facilitates the forming of balls of snow within the shoe. The absence of a central bearing-surface also produces contraction of the heel, while the toe-calk strains the 'fleXor tendons and the ligaments and increases the tendency to stumble. Other objections to the usual construction of horseshoes are that the calks catch in slots or crevices and pull off the shoe, while the concussion on hard pavements, due to lack of resiliency, often produces lameness.

The primary object of my invention is to produce a horseshoe which will avoid the obiections above mentioned, which may be readily fitted to any size of hoof, and which will be resilient and light in weight and adapted for use on all conditions of pavements.

A further object of my invention is to produce a horseshoe which will be comparatively simple in construction, inexpensive in manufacture, and efficient in use.

My invention, generally described, consists in a horseshoe comprising a transverselycorrugated resilient pad of a size to comcover the under surface of the hoof and metallic washers through which the nails pass located within the grooves of the corru-4 gations.

My invention will be more fully described hereinafter with reference to the accompany ing drawings, in which the same is illustrated as embodied in a convenient and practical 5 form, and in which- Figure 1 is a plan view `of the under sur- Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed April 18. 1904. Serial No. 203,557.

Patented April 10., 1906.

face of the shoe; Fig. 2, a central sectional view, and Figs. 3 4, and 5 plan views of modi fied forms of the washers.

Similar reference characters are used to designate similar parts in the several iigures of the drawings.

Reference letter A designates a resilient pad of a size to completely cover the under surface of the hoof of a horse.

A2 designates the heel portion of the pad, while A indicates the toe, which is cut away to substantially half of the thickness of the heel. Intermediate of the heel and toe portions of the pad are corrugatioiis composed of the ribs A3, A4, and A, between which are the grooves a, at, and a5.

The material of which the pad is formed is resilient and preferaliily a composition of rub ber, so that an even bearing is formed through out the under surface of the hoof and the con cussion due to the impact of the hoof against the pavement dissipated.

The pad is securely fastened to the hoof by nails which pass through metallic washers lo cated in the grooves of the corrugations. Such washers may be of various forms and may be either of a less depth than the ribs of the corrugations or of substantially the same depth, so as to engage the pavement to prevent slipping.

C C designate washers of less thickness than the depth of the grooves and of a con,- tour to closely fit against adjacent ridges. The 'washers C are provided with openings c, through which the nails are driven.

In lieu of providing two washers wit iin the groove of cach corrugation the two washers may be integrally connected, as shown in Fig. 5, where C indicates thewashors through holesc, in which nails are passed, while c designates the portion for connecting the wasl ers.

When the pavements are in good condition and there is no danger of slipping,wash ers, such as C or l, are preferably employed, whereas washers having sharp projections are preferably used when the pavements are in a slippery condition. C2 C2 designate U- shaped washers having projections c2 of a length substantially equal to the depth of the grooves between the corrugations. c represents the holes 'through which the nails are driven.

In lieu of locating separate washers C2 in each groove bars, such as C3, C4, or C5, may be employed. Each of such bars is provided roo IIO

with holes adjacent its ends, through which l through engagement of the calks with grooves the nails are driven, and is provided with sharp edges or projections either intermediate of the nail-holes, as shown at C3 and O4, or the portion between the nail-holes may be reduced and sharp projections c5 provided at the ends, as shown in Fig. 4.

Vhile I have shown the bar O3 provided with a continuous sharp edge c3 and the bar O* with a series of points in the form of pyramids, yet it is obvious that other projecting points or edgesmay be provided.

B designates a metallic plate seated bey neath the reduced toe portion A/ of the pad,

which is preferably provided with a sharp edge b of substantially the height of the adjoining rib A3. The plate B may also be provided with an extension b to serve as a toeclip to extend upwardly and overlie the adjacent portion of the hoof. The plate B is provided with holes through which the nails are driven, so that the plate serves as a washer to prevent the pad from tearing off of the hoof.

It is obvious that my improved shoe may be readily fitted to any size of hoof by trimming the outer edge thereof, or if it is desired to increase the bearing-surface of the hoof the pad may be allowed to project beyond the edge thereof. The pad preferably cQmpletely covers the under surface of the hoof; but should it be so desired an opening may be cut threrethrough to permit ventilation. When the pad has been trimmed to thedesired size, it is secured to the hoof by locating washers within the grooves of the corrugations and driving nails through the washers into the hoof. The toe-plate is also secured by driving nails through the holes thereof, so that the pad is securely fastened to the hoof. Vhen'the condition of the pavement is slippery, washers with sharp projecting edges or points are employed, so that they perform the double function of serving to prevent the tearing of the pad over the nails and to avoid any danger of the horse slipping.

' From the foregoing description it will be observed that I have invented an improved horseshoe which through its resiliency renders the travel of the horse practically noiseless and so reduces the concussion as to avoid any danger of producing lameness. It

will also be noted that the pad entirely covers the under surface of the hoof, thereby preventing contraction of the heel and avoiding injury of the hoof by contact with stones or sharp objects. The cut-away toe portion prevents stumbling and reduces the strain on the tendons, while the absence of calks obviates any danger of the shoe -being torn off or crevices.

It is obvious that the positions of the washers with respect to the edges of the pad may be varied, thereby permitting the nails to be driven deep or shallow, according to the condition of the hoof at the point where the nail is to be driven. The weight of the washers may also be varied, thereby so balancing the weight of the hoof as to correct any tendency on the part of the horse to throw his hoofs to either side. The cut-away toe of the shoe also performs the additional function of lessening the danger of interfering or forging, as the absence of a toe-calk permits the front hoofs to be more quickly lifted and thereby removed from the path of the rear hoofs.

While I have described more or less precisely thek details of construction, I do not wish to be understood as limiting myself thereto, as I contemplate changes in form, the proportion of parts, and the substitution of equivalents as circumstances may suggest or render expedient without departing from the spirit of my invention.

Having now fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A horseshoe comprising a resilient pad the toe of which is of less thickness than the heel portion, and a metallic toe-plate comprising a horizontal flange through which securing-nails pass and a vertical flange projectingl flush with the heel portion.

2. In a horseshoe, the combination with a transversely-corrugated resilient pad, the toe portion of which is of less thickness than the heel, and a metallic toe-plate comprising a horizontal iiange through which securingnails pass and a vertical flange projecting flush with the ribs of the corrugations. Y

3. A horseshoe comprising a resilient pad the toe of which is of less thickness than the heel portion, washers on the under surface of the pad having holes through which the nails pass, and a toe-plate through which the securing-nails pass.

4. In a horseshoe, the combination with a transversely corrugated resilient pad, the toe portion of which is of less thickness than the heel, of metallic washers located Within the grooves of the corrugations through which securing-nails pass, and a metallic toeplate through which securing-nails pass.

In testimony whereof I sign this specification in the presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE WV. JOHNSON.

I/Vitnesses:

GEO. L. WILKINSON, CLARA O. CUNNINGHAM.

ICO 

